The Scandal
On July 16, 2008, sixteen infants who were fed Sanlu milk powder were diagnosed with kidney stones in Gansu Province, and brought the world's attention to possible poisoning in Chinese milk. Apparently, the company had watered down their milk, and then added Melamine, which has a high nitrogen content, to increas e the protein levels and pass government tests. There were too many consumers, and not enough milk - so to increase the amount, Sanlu added water. Further tests revealed as many as 21 other companies had also done the same thing, including Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili, though the melamine content was not as severe as Sanlu.
(From left to right) http://www.21food.cn/userImages/sanlu/sanlu$112885256.jpg http://www.babygle.cn/pic/new/ml_sl/sl001.jpg http://www.21food.cn/userImages/sanlu/sanlu$112982914.jpg Lead-up to the Scandal
The most scary thing is that this may not have been a recent event. As far back as 2005 and 2006, a Shaanxi milk agent reported that illegal substances may have been added in the milk of competitive companies. However, investigations turned up nothing and the matter was dropped. The government, then, started receiving complaints of sick infants as far back as December of 2007 - but did not begin formal tests until the July of 2008. On June of 2008, the media reported a sudden increase in the number of babies admitted to hospitals with kidney stones, and one parent complained to the AQSIQ of Sanlu's milk powder. Meanwhile, at least one member of the public had flagged the bulletin board of the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) that reported the rare cases of kidney stones in children could be linked to Sanlu - all received vague replies, which led to accusations of the government trying to cover up the problem. And then, the government finally received a report from the Gansu Province on July 16 that a hospital found that most babies with kidney stones admitted recently had consumed Sanlu products. Finally, investigators were sent to the Gansu Province by the Health Ministry in August.
Current Situation
Here, a news report from China talks about the current situation. International Response News reports of the scandal circulated around China on September 9th, with the international world learning of it a day later. Originally, Sanlu was not named as the culprit, but this was found out soon enough. Sanlu initially denied the accusations, and tried to bribe Baidu (a Chinese version of Google) ensure links to news and reports against Sanlu. Baidu, however, refused the bribe and denounced this attempt.
The Chinese Milk Scandal
The ScandalOn July 16, 2008, sixteen infants who were fed Sanlu milk powder were diagnosed with kidney stones in Gansu Province, and brought the world's attention to possible poisoning in Chinese milk. Apparently, the company had watered down their milk, and then added Melamine, which has a high nitrogen content, to increas e the protein levels and pass government tests. There were too many consumers, and not enough milk - so to increase the amount, Sanlu added water. Further tests revealed as many as 21 other companies had also done the same thing, including Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili, though the melamine content was not as severe as Sanlu.
(From left to right) http://www.21food.cn/userImages/sanlu/sanlu$112885256.jpg
http://www.babygle.cn/pic/new/ml_sl/sl001.jpg
http://www.21food.cn/userImages/sanlu/sanlu$112982914.jpg
Lead-up to the Scandal
The most scary thing is that this may not have been a recent event. As far back as 2005 and 2006, a Shaanxi milk agent reported that illegal substances may have been added in the milk of competitive companies. However, investigations turned up nothing and the matter was dropped. The government, then, started receiving complaints of sick infants as far back as December of 2007 - but did not begin formal tests until the July of 2008. On June of 2008, the media reported a sudden increase in the number of babies admitted to hospitals with kidney stones, and one parent complained to the AQSIQ of Sanlu's milk powder. Meanwhile, at least one member of the public had flagged the bulletin board of the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) that reported the rare cases of kidney stones in children could be linked to Sanlu - all received vague replies, which led to accusations of the government trying to cover up the problem. And then, the government finally received a report from the Gansu Province on July 16 that a hospital found that most babies with kidney stones admitted recently had consumed Sanlu products. Finally, investigators were sent to the Gansu Province by the Health Ministry in August.
Current Situation
Here, a news report from China talks about the current situation.
International Response
News reports of the scandal circulated around China on September 9th, with the international world learning of it a day later. Originally, Sanlu was not named as the culprit, but this was found out soon enough. Sanlu initially denied the accusations, and tried to bribe Baidu (a Chinese version of Google) ensure links to news and reports against Sanlu. Baidu, however, refused the bribe and denounced this attempt.